Gwangju City’s ‘AI-Centered City’ Momentum... Secures 80.05 Billion Won in National Funding for Next Year

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The project to create 'Gwangju, an AI-Centered City,' which Gwangju Metropolitan City is focusing on as a core initiative, is expected to gain more momentum next year.

The city announced on the 8th that it secured 80.05 billion KRW in government budget for 2021 for major projects, including the 'AI-Centered Industrial Convergence Complex Development Project,' which was selected last year as a project exempt from preliminary feasibility study. This amount is a 14.8% (10.35 billion KRW) increase from this year's 69.7 billion KRW.

Among the seven major projects reflected in the government budget, four are new projects with 12.35 billion KRW, and three are ongoing projects with 67.7 billion KRW.

Out of the 11 projects (100.92 billion KRW) proposed as national projects for 2021, the city achieved the inclusion of national funding for seven projects, accounting for 79.3%.

The detailed projects included in next year's government budget are ▲ AI-Centered Industrial Convergence Complex Development (64.5 billion KRW) ▲ Support for AI Graduate School (2 billion KRW) ▲ AI-Based Personalized National Care Service for Vulnerable Groups (1.2 billion KRW) ▲ AI Technology Demonstration Testbed Establishment (7 billion KRW) ▲ AI-Based Bio-Healthcare Convergence Product Development Commercialization Platform Construction (2.45 billion KRW) ▲ Industrial Data Standardization and Certification Infrastructure Establishment (2.5 billion KRW), and ▲ AI Conference (400 million KRW), totaling seven projects.

Since February, Gwangju City has launched an AI national funding response and discovery consultative body composed of autonomous districts, research institutes, universities, and industries to review government policies and directions and to plan new projects suitable for the region, preparing ahead of time.

In line with the budget formulation schedule, the city visited relevant ministries and the National Assembly to actively explain the rationale for the projects and the necessity of implementing them in Gwangju, making continuous efforts.

In particular, in line with the AI national strategy announced last year, the city announced in January this year the vision to open the AI Gwangju era, along with four major promotion strategies and 20 key tasks. It also established a Gwangju-type digital New Deal policy centered on AI according to the Korean New Deal policy, proactively responding to new projects linked with government policies.

Jo In-cheol, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Economy, said, “We expect that major projects, including the AI-Centered Industrial Convergence Complex Development Project, which is a core project for Gwangju’s AI-centered 3 New Deals, will be reflected in the government budget, giving more momentum to the promotion of regional pending projects. We will further accelerate the creation of a Gwangju-type AI business ecosystem through attracting AI specialized companies and nurturing AI talent.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.